Trajectories of Posture Development in Infants With and Without Familial Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Area of Science:

• Developmental Pediatrics
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Infant Motor Development

Background:

• Early posture development is a critical milestone in infant development.
• Identifying early markers for neurodevelopmental conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is crucial for timely intervention.
• Infants at heightened risk (HR) for ASD often exhibit subtle developmental differences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prospectively investigate and compare early posture development trajectories in infants at heightened risk (HR) versus low risk (LR) for ASD.
• To identify specific postural patterns associated with ASD diagnosis and language delay in HR infants.
• To explore differences in posture sustainment as potential early indicators.

Main Methods:

• Prospective longitudinal study design.
• Home-based video recordings of 85 infants (14 HR-ASD, 17 HR-LD, 29 HR-ND, 25 LR) at 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 months.
• Systematic coding of all infant postures and identification of sustainment sources for supported postures.

Main Results:

• HR-ASD infants demonstrated significantly distinct postural trajectories compared to LR infants, indicating slower development of advanced postures.
• HR-LD infants also showed distinct postural trajectories, though to a lesser extent than HR-ASD infants.
• Subtle differences in how infants sustained supported postures were observed between HR-ASD and HR-LD groups.

Conclusions:

• Early postural development patterns differ between infants at heightened risk for ASD and low-risk infants.
• Slower progression in postural development may serve as an early indicator for ASD and language delay.
• Posture sustainment characteristics offer potential for differentiating between ASD and other developmental delays in at-risk infants.